How to supersize your space

Raquel de BritoThe West Australian

Thursday, 7 June 2018 2:25PM

Camera IconIn this house designer David Hicks used dark wall paint to make the room appear larger while highlighting reflections in the antique French mirror leaning on the panelled wall.Picture: Supplied

It’s no secret that mirrors are the go-to accessory when trying to create the illusion of space in a small room but there are plenty of other style tricks Perth’s leading interior designers have up their sleeves to supersize a space.

Interior designer Nickolas Gurtler reveals scale is the most important factor to consider when creating a sense of more space in an interior.

Camera IconThe use of wall panelling anchors the credenza but full-length sheets of mirror suggest that the room extends beyond.Picture: Supplied.

“Make sure you select pieces that are in proportion to the room. Placing an enormous modular sofa in a small space will immediately feel small and busy — in our minds the sofa is large and therefore the room must be small,” he explains.

“Keep in mind that this doesn’t work in reverse — buying pieces that are too small won’t give you a designer finish.”

Interior designer David Hicks says smaller rooms need narrower, more streamlined furniture and less of it.

Mr Gurtler agrees, saying lower profiles in furniture don’t create as many visual obstructions and allow an entire space to be viewed without interruption, which contributes to a sense of openness.

“Cleaner lines in larger furniture which echo the architecture also exhibit the same effect,” Mr Gurtler says.

According to Mr Gurtler, it’s important to consider your furniture plan and the flow of a room, making sure there is ample room for manoeuvring and an ease of navigation throughout the space.

“Having to walk through a maze of furniture is frustrating and will psychologically make a room feel smaller and cluttered,” he explains.

When it comes to selecting home decor, Mr Gurtler suggests opting for transparent finishes to create a sense of space.

“The general rule of thumb is the more you can see through, around or underneath something the better. Reflective finishes help to bounce light and, if used properly, project key details of your interior.”

Mr Hicks says playing around with paint can also work in extending spaces.

“In small rooms, it can pay to go darker with the wall colour to make the walls recede. I have also used a full-gloss paint on ceilings, which reflects light and makes them appear higher,” he reveals.

Mr Hicks also says decluttering can go a long way in making a room feel bigger.

“Streamlined spaces often tend to seem larger as there is less bulk in the room. Try only having a few nice things on display,” he says.

“I like to place all furniture on area rugs in smaller rooms as this contains them and provides a platform or stage for them if you like. The rest of the room then feels separate to this area.”

There’s no denying that when it comes to making a room feel bigger, few things work as well as a mirror in design and decoration.

“I use it often and either panel entire walls or hang large framed mirrors to visually extend the space,” Mr Hicks reveals.

Mirrored walls — Start a new trend! Using a variety of mirror colours and size formatting is the perfect way to clad a wall with a difference. Large-format 600 x 600mm mirrors perfectly installed by butting tightly up against each other create beautiful dimensions and depth in any space. Work closely with your designer and builder and work out ways in which to create storage behind mirrored walls.

Big big mirrors — Oh how we love large, sliding mirror doors with a good door handle attached — behind these sliding doors entire rooms can be nestled. For example, a hidden reading retreat, a study nook or a walk-in robe.

Master-suite masterstroke — Do you love the idea of a dividing floating wall to separate or even hide your dressing and robe area? If so, consider using mirror on the entire back wall facing into the dressing area. This expands the generally smaller space and grabs light from everywhere. Push the boundary of your design and see if you could have the mirror divided into sections and have hidden shoe shelves behind.

Camera IconIn this house designer David Hicks used dark wall paint to make the room appear larger while highlighting reflections in the antique French mirror leaning on the panelled wall.Picture: Supplied

Floor-standing mirrors — At the moment we find “leaners” are on trend. We love custom-made but there are off-the-shelf versions which work really well.

Mirrored tiles — We are pleased to report that many on-trend tile stores are now stocking sensational mirrored tiles. The tiles are etched, bronzed, bevelled, textured and, quite simply, stunning. Be clever in the use of these as it could become an expensive project.

Kitchens and mirrors combine to create amazing visual chemistry — Mirrored splashbacks are not to be snubbed. Consider the orientation of your work space and see if you can use the mirror to bring your outdoors in. In current home design we are finding many kitchens are facing courtyards and beautiful gardens. Bring this beauty into your space by adding a mirrored splashback.

Camera IconLa Vue Interiors principal designer Kim Robertson says large sliding mirrors are a great way of creating space.Picture: Supplied

OPTICAL ILLUSION

According to interior designer Nickolas Gurtler, our eyes use where walls meet the floor and ceiling to calculate the size of a space. He reveals his bag of tricks to help blur the lines and increase the sense of space.

Avoid placing all your furniture up against the wall — pull your sofa (for example) out from the wall. This will blur the geometry of the room and prevents the mind from delineating where the wall and floor meet.

If you’re trying to create more space, paint the walls the same colour as the ceiling — it stops our eye from being drawn to their intersection and enhances the distance between ceiling and floor.

Lighter colours reinforce a sense of space, particularly when it comes to wall and floor finishes. More light is reflected from lighter surfaces which will in turn create more of a sense of space.

Camera IconThe use of wall panelling anchors the credenza but full-length sheets of mirror suggest that the room extends beyond.Picture: Supplied.

When selecting lighting, the trend over the past decade has been to over-light to create a sense of space. Selecting lights that wash up or down a wall are my preferred method of ambient lighting rather than a grid of downlights — they reflect light off the walls, floor and ceiling without the glare typical of downlights.